


Witness

by Warp5Complex_Archivist



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-08
Updated: 2006-03-08
Packaged: 2018-08-16 03:37:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8085361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warp5Complex_Archivist/pseuds/Warp5Complex_Archivist
Summary: Trip has nightmares; Hoshi learns what they mean. (08/29/2004)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Kylie Lee, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Warp 5 Complex](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Warp_5_Complex), the software of which ceased to be maintained and created a security hazard. To make future maintenance and archive growth easier, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but I may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Warp 5 Complex collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Warp5Complex).

There were flames everywhere, surrounding him, the heat burning his skin and hair. He screamed in pain as his skin blistered, then in sorrow and rage when he saw her broken body laying on the floor. He dropped beside her, this team screaming for the people who were no longer there to help him. But no help came, only more pain as he realized she was dead...

* * *

Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker woke with a start, drenched in sweat and completely disoriented. The dream had been so real, he had been certain that the Enterprise was under attack and burning. But from his quarters everything seemed fine, no fire, no sparks, no smoke. Trip shook his head, trying to clear the mental images of death surrounding him from his mind. He sighed and glanced at the time before getting out of bed and grabbing the first uniform he found, which happened to be the one he had worn the other day when he had been on an alien ship they had found adrift, trying to activate the log for Hoshi.

As he remembered that, he froze, the image of her laying on the deck, her eyes staring blankly up at him, returned. He shuddered and tossed the uniform aside, grabbing a clean one instead, and after hurriedly pulling it on, he headed out, needing to see Hoshi with his own two eyes and know she was okay. As he walked, he mentally scolded himself. "It was just a dream, not real. Hoshi's fine and in mess, she's not dead," he insisted, not realizing he was talking out loud until he saw an ensign give him an odd look.

Thankfully, he had reached mess by then and as he walked in he scanned the room. After a moment, he spotted her at a table by the windows, looking over a padd. Smiling, he walked over, not even bothering to get his own breakfast and sat down across from her. "Mornin' Hosh," he said.

Ensign Hoshi Sato looked up, smiling. "Good Morning, Commander," she replied. "I can't thank you enough for getting the logs working and downloaded. The language is fairly simple, but it's still a bit of a challenge because of the damage to the ship's systems."

"No need to thank me, I was just doin' my job. But if you insist on thanking me...don't tell Mama Tucker about Risa and we'll be even."

Hoshi raised a hand to her mouth, tryign to stifle her laughter. "Deal," she agreed.

"I talked to the Cap'n," Trip continued. "This Saturday, the Cargo bay is ours for a dance."

"What did T'Pol say?"

"A dance is a waste of time. But the Cap'n thought it was a good idea, so who cares?" Trip said, shrugging. "Now, I did my part, you're gonna wear the scarf, aren't ya'?" Hoshi laughed, but nodded. "Sure. It's the reason you decided to have a dance, afterall."

"You look to good in red not to show it off."

"I seem to remember you telling me that on Vical..." Hoshi replied.

"Save a couple dances for me?"

"Of course. After all, you are my favorite guy...next to Malcolm." Trip started to laugh, then cut off abruptly as the scene in front of him shifted slightly. The people were the same, as was the location, but things seemed different at the same time.

* * *

"You know you're my favorite guy," she said, smiling. "Next to Callen."

"Flirt," he replied, grinning.

"And you love me for it."

"You know I do."

"I love you, too."

"More than Callen?"

"Much more."

* * *

"Trip?" Hoshi repeated, her hand resting on his as her face showed concern. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Trip asked dumbly.

"You...you blacked out or something," Hoshi said. "One minute you're laughing, the next you...your eyes glazed over and you didn't respond when I called your name."

"I'm fine, Darlin'. Just still fighting off this dream I had," Trip said, patting her hand reassuringly.

"Nasty one."

"What was it about?"

"Something happened, the Enterprise...she was burning down around me, and..." he trailed off, shaking his head. He didn't want to think about the other part, the part where he saw her body.

"No wonder you're so shaken up. The Enterprise is your baby," Hoshi said, squeezing his hand.

"But you take good care of her. And Malcolm's not going to let anyone set us on fire."

"Yeah," Trip said, chuckling at his own silliness of being scared by a dream. "You gonna eat that last piece of toast?"

Hoshi shook her head, then set down the padd and pushed her tray across the table to him, never letting go of his hand. "You can finish it," she said.

"Thanks," Trip replied. "I don't have time for a real breakfast. I woke up late."

"But you had time to come talk to me?" Hoshi asked.

"I always have time to talk to you."

"I have to get up to the bridge," she said reluctantly.

"Meet ya' for lunch?" Trip asked hopefully.

Hoshi nodded, using her free hand to gather the padds scattered on her half of the table. "Lunch," she agreed, releasing Trip's hand and standing. "Who knows? Maybe I'll have some interesting alien technical details from the log by then."

Trip smiled. "Here's hopin'," he said. He watched her leaving, and sighed, running a hand over his face. Now he just had half a shift to get through before he could see her again. He could handle that, as long as he didn't have anymore black outs.

* * *

Hoshi frowned as she re-read the translated portion of the log. While she had translated, she hadn't been paying attention as she recorded her translation. But now, looking back over it, she couldn't help getting a strange feeling in her stomach. She slipped the earpiece into her ear, listening to the computer's synthetic version of the alien's voice read the translation.

"I think the Sevians are following us. If they find us, they'll kill us all. Me, Shova, Callen..."

Hoshi halted the translation, her frown deepening. "Callen," she repeated to herself. She was sure Trip had murmured that name when he had spaced out during breakfast. She KNEW he had. What were the chances of him saying a name that was also mentioned in the logs? She shook her head, deciding it had to be just a coincidence. Maybe he had heard the name while downloading the logs for her. After all, it sounded the same even untranslated.

But, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help wondering.

* * *

Trip wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, wondering why he was sweating so much. It wasn't that warm in engineering, but he was drenched in sweat. He had already spaced out at least 2 more times, each time being brought back to reality by one of his engineers, Ensign Almack, asking him if he was okay. He glanced at the time and smiled slightly. Almost time for lunch with Hoshi.

"You look happy about something," Captain Jonathan Archer said as he leaned against the bulkhead, a slight smile on his face.

Trip shrugged. "Almost time for a break."

"T'Pol told me she saw one of your engineers shaking you out of a daze earlier," Archer said, the smile fading into a concerned look.

"T'Pol needs to mind her own business," Trip snapped. "I'm fine." Archer was quiet for a minute, then he nodded. "If you say so. How about lunch?"

"Sorry, I've got plans with a beautiful woman," Trip replied, smiling as he got to his feet. "And you know a beautiful woman always outranks you, Cap'n."

Archer chuckled. "Alright, another time."

"Sure thing, Jon."

* * *

Hoshi stirred her food with her fork, sighing. It was almost time for her to be back on the bridge, and Trip had yet to show up. She sighed again, wondering what was keeping him. It didn't seem like him, not the real him anyway. It fit with what most people seemed to think of him, but she had figured out early on that he wasn't really like that. "Damn it," she muttered.

"I don't think I've ever heard you swear," Archer said as he walked over. "At least not in English. What's wrong?"

"Trip's late for lunch," Hoshi said.

Archer frowned. "That's strange, he left Engineering to come meet you almost an hour ago."

"He was really out of it this morning..." Hoshi said.

"He spaced out at least once in Engineering. T'Pol saw it."

"He spaced out during breakfast, too," Hoshi said, jumping to her feet and running out.

Suddenly, she felt the intense need to find Trip. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

* * *

A clean uniform as laid out on his bed, and he was half out of the one he'd worn all morning. Trip himself lay on the floor, curled up on his side with sweat dripping onto the floor under him. His eyes were wide open, but he was unaware of what was really happening around him, too lost in the images that invaded his head.

* * *

They were happy. It was as simple as that. Of course, they should have known the happiness wouldn't last long. The Sevians always found them and caused trouble.

And they always seemed to find them just when everyone was happy.

He looked across the bridge at the woman he loved, the woman he always loved, but had only recently realized he did. And she looked up and smiled at him, raising one hand to give a slight wave. He returned the smile and mouthed 'Dinner?', his smile widening when she nodded.

Then the world exploded around them.

* * *

"Commander?"

Trip's eyes snapped shut as he gasped and struggled against the hands holding him down. "No!" he yelled.

"Trip!" Hoshi said, releasing her hold on his arm to cradle his face in her hands. "Trip, calm down!"

Trip's struggling eased and he opened his eyes, relief flooding him as the first thing he saw was

Hoshi's face. "Hosh?" he asked, confused. He pushed himself up, realizing for the first time that he wasn't in his quarters anymore. He looked at Archer and Dr. Phlox's concerned faces. "What am I doin' in sickbay?"

"When you didn't show up for lunch, I went to check on you. You were unconscious in your quarters," Hoshi explained, taking Trip's hand in her own.

"What happened, Commander?" Phlox asked.

"I don't know," Trip replied, frowning. "I've been spacing out lately. Reliving this dream I had...except I keep seeing parts I didn't see before."

"How long has this been happening?" Phlox asked.

"Since...since that ship. I spaced out in the shower when I was getting that grease off. And last night I dreamed the Enterprise was on fire, burning. Then today it just keeps happening. It's me, it's the crew, but it's like we're different people." He shook his head. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Why don't you lay back down and let the doctor run some tests," Archer suggested. "See if he can find out what's wrong."

Trip shook his head. "I'm fine," he argued, getting up, then stumbling as he legs gave out. "Or not."

Hoshi knelt beside him, a stern look on her face. "Trip, listen to the Captain for once."

"Anything you say, Darlin'," Trip replied, trying to smile and reassure her. Unfortunately the effect was ruined when his eyes glazed over again.

"Trip!" Hoshi cried, surprised.

* * *

"What's going on Captain?" Ensign Travis Mayweather asked as Archer as the captain walked into the briefing room.

"Commander Tucker is in sickbay," Archer reported, taking his seat. "According to Phlox something has affected Trip's brain patterns, and he's suffering from hallucinations."

"Of what, sir?" Lt. Malcom Reed asked, concerned for his friend.

"Of the Enterprise being destroyed," Archer replied. "Ensign Sato seems to think there's a connection with the alien ship we found a few days ago. Apparently during a space out this morning she heard him mention the name 'Callen', which she found in the ship's log."

"Where is Hoshi?" Mayweather asked.

"She's in sickbay, working on translating the log. She's hoping Trip will say something to give her an idea of what to look for," Archer said. "Mayweather, I want this ship turned around. We're going back to that ship. I want to know what's happened. T'Pol, look over the communications log, see if anyone who was on board the ship reported anything strange. Dismissed."

* * *

"Ensign, you should return to you quarters and rest," Phlox suggested a few hours later as he walked over.

Hoshi shook her head, not looking up from the padds she was studying. "Not until I have this translated and we know how to help Trip," she said.

"You need to rest," Phlox repeated. "Why don't you lay down in here for a little while. I promise to wake you if anything happens."

Hoshi hesitated, finally looking up from the padds and fixing her gaze on the sedated Trip.

"Alright," she agreed, pushing herself up out of her chair. "But only for an hour. And if he so much as mutters a word, I want you to wake me."

"I will," Phlox promised, glad that he had convinced her to rest. She was looking more than a little harried, of course nearly six hours of non stop work in an uncomfortable chair would make anyone look that way. "You just rest, Ensign. I'll take care of the Commander."

"I know you will, Doctor," Hoshi agreed, trying to smile, but unable to as she looked back at Trip's sedated form again. She hesitated and walked back to him, laying a light kiss on his forehead. "Don't worry, Trip. I'll figure this out."

Phlox sighed as he watched her go to one of the other beds and climb on, falling asleep almost the moment her head touched the pillow. He walked over and pulled the sheet up and over her, and set the computer to wake her in an hour and a half, just in case he forgot. Then he returned his attention to Trip himself.

The officer was getting worse by the minute, and Phlox had no idea what to do for him. It was difficult for the doctor, especially since this wasn't the first time he had been in this situation concerning Trip. The man just seemed to have a knack for getting himself in serious trouble. With a sigh, Phlox went back to checking the readouts for Trip, hoping to distinguish whatever was causing the problem from the man's normal brain patterns.

* * *

"Why do they hate us so much, Miro?" she asked as he held her close.

"I don't know, Shova," he replied. "I wish I did."

"They won't find us this time, will they?"

"I'm sure they won't. My modifications to the engines changed our signature. They'll think we're a Morovan Warship," he said, chuckling. "Not even the Sevians are stupid enough to attack Morovans."

She laughed, turning in his arms to look at him. "I knew you could keep us safe."

"Always."

* * *

Trip's eyes snapped open as he woke from the drug induced sleep. He blinked a few times, trying to remember what was happening, and when he saw Phlox leaning over him her remembered. "It happened again," he said wearily.

"You passed out just after you stood," Phlox acknowledged. "Ensign Sato did not leave your side until a half hour ago, when I insisted she sleep," he added, gesturing at the bed where Hoshi was sleeping.

"How long have I been out?" Trip asked.

"Six hours. How do you feel?"

"Better," Trip said. "I don't think I dreamt until right before I woke up."

"The sedatives prevented dreams," Phlox said. "I should wake the Ensign. She insisted if anything happened that I do."

"Let her sleep, Doc," Trip said, rolling his head tot he side to watch her. "I'll remember what I saw."

Phlox nodded, only too happy to agree and let Hoshi sleep. "For another half hour," he agreed.

"Otherwise she'll be angry that I didn't wake her up when I said I would."

"An angry Hoshi is a bad thing," Trip said with a slight smile. "Tell ya' what, I'll pretend to be asleep when it's time to wake her. Then I'll 'wake up'."

Phlox smiled. "Thank you, Commander."

"What's happening to me, Doc?"

"We believe something on the alien ship affected you. Ensign Sato remembers you saying the name 'Callen' during one of your blackouts, and that name was in the log." Trip frowned. "Callen..." he muttered. "I called her Shova, and she called me Miro..."

"Who?" Phlox asked.

"I'm not sure. It was us, but...it wasn't."

"We'll find out what's wrong," Phlox assured him.

* * *

"Captain, I believe I've found something," T'Pol reported.

"What is it?" Archer asked, jumping to his feet and going to her station.

"While Commander Tucker was attempting to activate and download the alien logs for Ensign Sato, there was a power surge. The Commander reported that he received a mild shock," T'Pol said. "It's possible the shock was severe enough to cause damage to his brain."

"Or to infect him with something," Archer mused.

"A virus could not be transmitted through an energy surge, Captain," T'Pol said in a condescending manner.

"After all we've seen out here, you really believe that?" Archer countered. "You have the bridge, T'Pol. I'm going to go see what Phlox thinks of this."

* * *

As it turned out, Phlox didn't need to wake Hoshi. An hour after she lay down, she woke up on her own and frowned when she saw Trip awake and talking to Phlox. "You said you'd wake me up," she told Phlox.

"Relax, Hosh, I only woke up a minute ago. The Doc was running a neurological test or somethin'," Trip covered, smiling. "I'm doing better after my little mostly dreamless nap."

"Mostly dreamless?" Hoshi asked.

"Right before I woke up I had one of the dream things. Got a couple of names for you."

"What?" Hoshi said, grabbing a padd to copy down what he said.

"Shova, Miro, Sevian, and Morovan. The first two are people, the last two are species. Sevians are the bad guys, and Morovans are real tough guys."

"I saw the names Shova and Sevian in the log..." Hoshi said. "The person recording it seemed worried about a woman named Shova. As well as their friend..."

"Callen," Trip finished for her.

"You said that name during the space out at breakfast," Hoshi said. "Tell me everything about what you've been seeing."

"I want to hear this, too," Archer said as he walked in. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better," Trip said. "This last one was nicer than some of the others. No death or burning."

"Tell us, starting with the first one you remember," Hoshi said.

Trip sighed. "When we got back from the ship, and I was showering, I think I spaced out. I don't really remember what I saw then, but I think it was me trying to fix the engines. It seemed almost normal, the kinda stuff I do every time the ship's in trouble. But then right before I woke up this morning, I had a dream that was..." he shuddered, remembering the image of her broken body.

"Enterprise was burning down around me. The heat was so intense...and...I could feel my skin burning right off me. Then I found her body."

"Who's?" Archer asked.

Trip looked up, his eyes locking on Hoshi's. "Hoshi's. She was dead, and just laying there...and there was no one to help us."

Hoshi took one of Trip's hands. "That's why you seemed so happy to see me this morning," she said.

"I'm always happy to see ya'," Trip corrected with a slight smile. "But yeah, that was why I was extra happy."

"What about the other times?" Archer asked.

"At breakfast it was almost like a repeat of a conversation Hoshi and I were having, but different. We were us, but not..."

"I need details, Trip," Hoshi said.

"You had just teased me about liking Malcolm better, then it was like a replay, but you said you liked Callen better. Then...you said you loved me, and I asked if you loved me more than Callen, and you said much more," Trip said, a little embarrassed by that part. "You see what I mean about it being us but not us?"

"Go on," Archer said.

"The two times in engineering were generic again, I remember something about modifying our signature," Trip said. "Then when I went back to my quarters to clean up before lunch with Hoshi...I was on the bridge, we all were. Everything seemed okay, we were happy, Hoshi and I were gonna have dinner together. Then we were attacked. The consoles started exploding. It was bad. I think..."

"And this last time?"

"It was...I was with Hoshi, talking about changing our engine signature to look like a Morovan Warship, to scare off the Sevians. Except I called her Shova, and she called me Miro." Hoshi was quiet for a minute, skimming through the translated portion of the log. "Miro was their engineer, and he was the one making the more recent log entries. Shova was a scientist he seemed to be involved with," she confirmed.

"The Sevians? Morovans?" Archer asked.

"Sevians were trying to kill them. I'm not sure, but from what I've found the people on that ship were a few of the only survivors of their people. And the Sevians were the ones who killed everyone else. I only have one mention of Morovans, and it confirms Trip's...dream...of altering the engine signature," Hoshi replied.

"So what? I'm reliving the life of their engineer?" Trip asked. "Why?"

"T'Pol told me there was an energy surge on the ship, and at the same time you reported a mild shock," Archer said. He turned to Phlox before continuing. "Is there anyway that could be responsible for what's happening?" Phlox thought for a moment. "It could," he finally said, going back to check on Trip's brain patterns. "Knowing a possible source, I may be able to find the patterns that are changed."

"So we're gonna get this stuff out of my head, right?" Trip asked. "I really don't wanna see Hoshi dead again," he added, squeezing her hand.

"We could sedate you again," Hoshi said. "Keep you from seeing the...things."

"I need to see the change in brain patterns when he has one," Phlox said regretfully. "But once I have those patterns, I can sedate you," he added. Trip sighed, nodding in acceptance. "Maybe I'll get lucky and have a horrifying and painful one right away," he muttered.

"That's the spirit," Archer said, trying to smile reassuring.

"Funny," Trip said.

"I'm going to head back up to the bridge. We'll figure this all out Trip. I promise," Archer added, patting Trip's shoulder before heading for the doors. Hoshi reluctantly released Trip's hand to go talk to the captain. "Sir, I'd like to stay here with Trip. Anything he might be able to tell me about what he's seeing could help me find clues in the log."

Archer nodded. "I'll keep you informed on anything T'Pol discovers."

"Thank you, sir."

"Take care of him, Ensign."

* * *

"Remind me never to touch anything on an alien ship again," Trip said an hour later. Hoshi smiled. "Like you'll listen when I tell you."

"Don't you know? I listen to every word you say to me," Trip replied grinning.

"You're a shameless flirt, Trip."

"Damn straight," he told her. "But you're my favorite person to flirt with." Hoshi laughed. "I don't like anyone flirting with me as much as I love you flirting with me," she said.

"That mean you'll still save a dance for me?"

"I'll save every dance for you," Hoshi said. "Who else would I dance with?"

"Malcolm?" Trip suggested.

"Nah, I like you better."

"Even when I space out while talking to you?"

"Even then," Hoshi said gently. "It's...endearing."

Trip snorted. "Sure."

"Only when you do it, though. If anyone else did it'd be annoying." Trip smiled. "You know, I..." he stopped trailing off as he got the now somewhat familiar feeling. "Hosh..."

"Doctor Phlox!" Hoshi called, realizing what was happening.

Phlox ran over and started studying the scans, trying to see the difference in the pattern.

* * *

"It's the Sevians!" Shova yelled over the sounds of exploding consoles.

"How did they find us?" Callen demanded from Miro.

Miro shook his head, frantically working at his console. "I don't know! This is...No! The engines are overloading!" he said, pushing away from his console and

running for the lift. As it started lowering him down, he called out, "Callen, take care of her!"

The lift was halfway between levels when the entire ship shook and Miro was thrown into a wall. The lift suddenly dropped rapidly and his arm was sliced open on a broken piece of bulkhead. He let out a scream of pain, but as the lift ground to a halt a few feet short of level with the engineering deck, he pulled himself together and squeezed through the space and landed on the deck, grunting as his arm hit.

* * *

Trip's eyes snapped closed, then open again, his breath harsh in his throat. "Damn."

"What? What did you see?" Hoshi asked.

"The Sevians attacked them, Miro went down to engineering to try and stop an overload, but the ship was hit again. He got hurt. That's where it ended."

"Was it still like you were Miro?"

"I was reliving it," Trip confirmed. "But this time...Shova and Callen were switching between looking like you and Malcolm and looking...different."

"I believe I've found the altered brain patterns," Phlox said.

"Does that mean you can stop this?" Trip asked. "Make me stop seeing...living...their last day?"

"Not yet," Phlox said regretfully. "But it will certainly help." Just then, the doors opened and Archer walked in, smiling when he saw Trip was conscious.

"We're approaching the ship. I need Hoshi to come back on it with us."

"Cap'n, I want to go too," Trip said. "Maybe if I go back on the ship, it'll spark something. Give us the answers we need."

Archer hesitated, looking at Phlox, who nodded agreement. "Alright."

* * *

"Anything?" Hoshi asked as she walked beside Trip.

Trip shook his head slightly, then stopped, staring at a spot on the floor. "This is...this is where he found her body," he said, looking down at it.

Hoshi placed her hand on his arm, squeezing slightly to reassure him that what had gone on there had happened a long time ago. "It's okay."

"I wonder where the body went," Trip asked quietly. "Maybe their people arrived before us and got them?"

"I think so," Hoshi said, nodding. "Come on, the Captain wanted us to go to the bridge." Trip nodded and led the way, shuddering as he stepped to avoid the area where he knew Shova's body had rested. He didn't know the woman, but he felt like he did. They walked through the doors and onto the bridge, Trip's gaze going from Miro's engineering console to Shova's science console. "The last time he saw her alive was right here. He asked Callen to take care of her."

"I bet she went after him. To make sure he was okay."

"And she died because of it."

"She would have died anyway," Hoshi reminded him. The partially melted bulkheads and consoles showed that the fire had reached here as well. "At least this way he found her."

Trip nodded absently, then made a beeline for the console he had received the shock from. He carefully, without touching anything, looked over it, then nodded again. "This is what I touched, right here," he said, pointing at small depression. "Looks almost like it was designed to interface with a finger or thumb..."

"If you say so," Hoshi said, looking at it. She reached towards the console, only to be stopped by a worried Trip. "I'm not going to touch the...fingerprint thing. I think I see some writing. And if I can get it cleared of soot, maybe it'll tell us what this thing is." Trip reached over and rubbed the soot away, which made both Archer and Malcolm rush over.

"What are you doing? Didn't you say you wouldn't touch anything?" Malcolm demanded.

"Better I get killed by this thing then Hoshi," Trip replied. "That clear enough?" he added to her. Hoshi nodded, leaning in a bit to look at it. "Oh..." she said, blowing out a breath.

"What?" Archer asked.

"Short Life Memory," she translated.

"What the hell's that mean?" Trip asked.

"I think it recorded the last day or so of Miro's life, his memories, and when you touched it, they were given to you," Hoshi explained. "We'll have to talk to Phlox, but...maybe since you aren't of their species, it didn't work right so everything's disjointed and mixed with your own memories. Or...maybe their people already arrived, and collected the bodies, as well as accessing this. But there was some of it left, and you got it.

"So I got infected by a day in the life?" Trip asked. "I really gotta learn not to touch anything."

"Captain Archer," T'Pol's vocie came over the open comm. "There is a ship that seems to be built by the same species as the one you are on approaching."

"Alright, let's get back to the Enterprise," Archer ordered.

As they left the Bridge, Trip once more hesitated over the spot where Miro found Shova, but this time his eyes glazed over again.

* * *

"Sho...Shova," Miro gasped out, staring down at her. "My love." He let out a strangled cry, hunching down over her body and sobbing. Then, he looked up, renewed determination on his face and he struggled, limping and pulling away from the flames that licked around him, towards the bridge. Callen sat in the pilot's seat, a large piece of metal from the console sticking out of his chest.

"Miro?" he said, coughing and choking on blood as it bubbled up.

"Callen," Miro replied, going to his friend's side.

"Shova...I sent her to find you..."

"I know," Miro said.

"We're going to die, Miro. I wanted you to be together."

"She's...she's gone."

Callen closed his eyes in grief. "She loved you best, Miro."

"But she loved you, too, Callen."

Callen smiled slightly. "Not like she loved you." He coughed again, more blood coming up. "The recorder. Everyone must know."

Miro nodded and crossed to the recorder, sighing in relief when he found it only slightly damaged. He pressed his hand to the pad, and closed his eyes, feeling the device copy his memories of the day. From breakfast with Shova, to their discussion in engineering about his alterations, to the beginning of the attack and trying to stop the overload. Finding Shova in the corridor, and everything till that moment.

* * *

Trip jerked back to reality, and sank down to sit on the deck. In the background, he could hear Hoshi talking to someone in a language he vaguely recognized as Miro, Shova, and Callen's, though he wasn't sure how exactly he recognized it. He opened his eyes again and was met by Archer's concerned gaze. "I'm fine," he said before his friend could ask. "It was so their people would know what happened."

"That's what they just told me," Hoshi said as she crouched down beside him and took his hand.

"Because of the damage the Ororians don't think it erased like it was suppose to, and you got the residue of the recording. And when combined with your human genetics, it...it mixed in with your own memories."

The lead Ororian approached, her head lowered in what seemed to be a show of regret. She said something to Hoshi who smiled and nodded. "She says they are sorry for what happened. And they may be able to remove all traces of Miro's memories, if you'll allow them to try, but they'll understand if you refuse."

"Am I gonna keep seeing his memories? keep spacing out?" Trip asked.

Hoshi turned back to the Alien and asked, then listened slowly to the reply. "If you've seen the recording itself taking place, then you shouldn't. But if they don't remove the memories, you will always have them."

"I can live with that," Trip said. "Someone else to remember what happened."

Hoshi translated the reply, which seemed to please the Alien. "She says you honor the memory of Miro and the others, as well as all of their people, by choosing to keep the memories."

"Well, I'm honored to honor them," Trip said wearily.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late," Trip said as he slide into the seat across from Hoshi.

"Oh, you're only 3 days late," Hoshi replied with a smile.

"Well, space outs, hallucinations, and dreams of another person's life and death tend to take it out of a guy," Trip said with a smile.

"Did Dr. Phlox clear you?"

"Completely."

"No more space outs, hallucinations, or dreams?"

"A couple of dreams, but...Phlox says it's normal. I don't even really remember them, but I think they were the good memories."

"Good," Hoshi said. "So, you up to a little dancing tonight?"

"It's Saturday?" Trip asked, surprised. "I completely forgot. I didn't even..."

"All taken care of," Hoshi said. "Travis and Cutler got it all ready."

"You still gonna save all your dances for me?"

"Well, maybe one for Malcolm and one for the Captain, since they've both told me repeatedly that they'll be there to make sure you don't over do it. I don't want to get bored, and you'll want a break from them."

"But mostly for me, right?" Trip asked, smiling.

"Yeah, mostly you."

"Good. And don't forget to wear the scarf."

"I won't," Hoshi promised. "Are you going to pick me up in my quarters?"

"Damn straight. Maybe I'll even bring you flowers," Trip agreed.

"Are you trying to make this a date?" Hoshi asked, smiling.

"Only if you want it to be. If you don't, then nah. I'm just being a charming southern gentleman."

"You have yourself a date, Commander," Hoshi told him, reaching across the table to take his hand.

"Hot damn," Trip said. "I've got a date with the most beautiful woman on the ship."

Hoshi laughed. "Eat your lunch, Commander."

"We've got a date, Hosh, I think you can call me Trip."

"Okay. Eat your lunch, Trip. You need your strength to dance the night away with me tonight."

"Yes, ma'am," Trip replied with a wide smile.


End file.
